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The ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday seeking to overturn a voter-approved marriage equality ban in North Carolina. The lawsuit involves three same-sex couples affected by critical medical conditions. The ACLU also moved to expedite a 2012 lawsuit challenging the ban, citing urgent health needs. "Nothing should delay loving and committed couples from having the security and recognition that comes with marriage," said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of ACLU North Carolina.

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The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Wisconsin's ban on marriage equality. Filed on behalf of same-sex couples who married in other states, the suit seeks to overturn the 2006 voter-approved ban that prevents them from accessing various state benefits. "The unmarried Plaintiffs are forced to choose between the risk of prosecution and foregoing access to any federal spousal protections," the lawsuit reads. "Once again, Wisconsin has no justification for this treatment other than Plaintiffs' sexual orientation and sex."

As of Oct. 1, plastic bottles must be recycled in North Carolina. A state law that passed in 2005 but just went into effect bans the disposal of plastic bottles in landfills, though it's unlikely that ordinary citizens would be penalized.

Starting in three weeks, same-sex couples in Iowa will be able to marry legally after a decision by the state Supreme Court overturning its marriage ban. The law was challenged by a group of couples in Polk County who filed a lawsuit in 2005 after being turned down for marriage licenses. The high court, backing a lower-court ruling, unanimously found "the county has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification for excluding plaintiffs from the institution of civil marriage," Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady wrote in the 69-page decision.

The California Supreme Court should review and quickly rule on four lawsuits seeking to overturn the state's voter-approved Proposition 8 marriage ban, according to a filing by Attorney General Jerry Brown. The state's top lawyer, in his response to the four lawsuits, also restated his opinion that the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California are valid, despite the passage of Proposition 8.

Michigan's attorney general's ruling that a voter-approved proposal on marriage also bans public employers from offering benefits to same-sex families is being challenged in a suit brought by 21 Michigan couples a number of advocacy groups, including National Pride at Work and the American Civil Liberties Union.